CRIME AND MYSTERY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 162, 11 July 1925, Page 23

CRIME AND MYSTERY.

BLOTS ON TOE 'SCUTCHEON.

£ OF CATHERrS

NAIRN.

Wfl tr» Or -MAY AND DfCCMNR" MARRIAGE.

QUO! WTXMUtf, A*

if «f "Fimcrai Tri«l» Ketolfl.")

sKiaag tteea point* were, tne yur dH ast uta to be macb Impressed. :t wh tw» •'dees la Ot morning, tad intr aid been nernagutd for thirty-three bout en end by eouMol for tbo prosecution, by the Lera\Adre< .ate, and tor tbe Leru Jrjllcc-ClcrL, r.. l then for three hours by caunsel jo* t.ke, defence. The result WIS, they warn ."-jroaghly exhausted. All they vatUd wea to got back to their own Interrupted affairs, As the quickest way or doing to, th»y found, "by a great plurality of voices," both tbe accused guilty. l Alexander Lockbart then fired ibtt last shot. He told tba Court tbtt ho bad an Important announcement to make. This wai tbat bit client was In a "lnterestlng condition." On being brosqucly questioned by tho Birch, Ketherlne blnsbtagly eorro. bonted the assertion. Fierce as wai too Scottish criminal coda at tbat period, It conld not send a woman to tba gallows who waa "expecting," But, all tbe same, tbe Judges- were not Inclined to accept an applicant's bars words on tba lubject. This wa* an old trick to secure a respite, Tbelr lordships know bow to deal' with it Accordingly, tbsy empanelled a "Jury of matrons" forthwith, to ■ettla tbe delicate question whether the prisoner was romancing or speaking the truth. Half a dozen helpful ladles vounteered their service*. These were accepted, and a tUrs. Hcry fiblella was appointed to assume charge and report tbe result. As, however, tbelr professional opinion was that "they could not bo positive, one way or the other," the Court whely decided to ceo what Nature bad to Bay In tbe matter, and postponed sentence on TCntlicriue Nairn for three months. Since, where Patrick Ogllrle waa concerned, there was no such necessity to delay proceedings, Judgment on him was pronounced forthwith. This, under tbe oarage code of the time, declared tbat be was to te "carried from the bar back to the Totbooth of Edinburgh, therein to remain, to be fed upon bread nrd water only until tbe 25th day of fleptember; and upon thnt day to be carried to the common place of execution In the Oress Market, and tlicro to be hanged hy tlio noel: upon a gibbet until bo be dead, Which Is pronounced for dooml" "•" With Patrick Ogllvle In a dishonoured grave, Fate was onco more busy with ICatbcrlno Nairn. Experienced matrons, who visited her regularly, reported tbat, nil helng well, abe might be expected to increase tbo population of Edinburgh In another three months. Aa a result, Judgment on hor was respited until March. The profeerionnl Indies were not much out of their reckoning, for their Interesting charge was "brought to bed of o daughter" at the end of February, 17(10. Thereupon the Court, considering they had been trifled with long enough, ordered hor to appear for sentence on Mhreh 17. When, bowover, the constables arrived ot the Tolbooth for -this purpose, they encountered an unanticipated hitch, "The enpboant waa ejsre," so to speak. Anyway, no Kathcrlne waa there. The quarry had flown, Exit Katharine. There are Tnrlous theories as! to how Katborlno effected hor etovonih hour escape. The generally accepted, and the most likely explanation in that she walked out of Hie building in the garments of the helpful Mra. Sklells, tbo midwife 1n attendance of her (who thus put Into practice her business slogan, "Ladles delivered nt their residences"), nnd that tho turnkey, who was In tlio plot, shirt Ms eyes ns to what was happening, During tho tlmo to come, bowover, a plentiful crop of rumours sprang up nbout Katbertne Nairn. Ons was runt she found rofuga lv a convent-at Lillo; onothor that ■he carved n fresh caroer for horself In America t and yet another that, under an assumed name, ike returned to England and married a wealthy widower. Certainly, alter all sbo had been through, one hopes she fell on her feet at last.

. - ----- a*e i»e*e» »a« t» »c* lAare HEs**m«*- f -!LT£!t2?wS •*** a%a laaltof parte were Lw« Ti-utjei Ik***** tk** ssaafjaiiai, eßy oa*rk thee- krerfcer. Xi- ***tM4 area* »• «*•*"!? •El* ■ <M« ask**) •» * eawieiH* gg*- « «, .rwrnle; the SSrTaaaVe>aa«fa> *• •**•«•; «* **« ss!liZ«lit aaejwe* ewt tC tke caaajta*** father snas a well. MM* |Mea*t, Mr Xheeaas Nalra. ■"j" '- ■— aal Iter asstfcer was a !zTrfi«r Aadersr *array. Added to f"a-*jwat*. far ska wae *r'aakarleea wkase sfce fceeaaas a bride, as «« aa wtt a*4 caarss sack •jataajeaararmac*- " fc^ilt As* atreaface*, however. ZTsUefeestae. as Ike aetotdshareat 77?,.--- at fear relatives, accepted for rZiaaakt Haws* OfHrie. a assail fanner % L MrOeaeear saasaßr. cad store «ba» saasaM ftars kcr eeaise. Tfc* treddlef was ~- . .r gmasirr. no. in ■awaasr User* tkeesee Of Uric was la £«a»V?leafka tbe tettewlaf Aagatt S-SaiaalT***aaa «*laka*fk prisea, SstwtfttMtta* psHeaetadsa. ar*r*• ftolkeHke Xelra cheese Titties *«w *• u.aua *» seylklaf where a maa fit MJHM pwrtiil Beteasra, aal It alas Mad Halse tkt's relative*- Offlrle wna ■Taaeltaat e#e*f*atiy, aethlar Is COBS'£«2fce waa to ehreaie bad !■**••* a aeerMi leaepe* as* a repetabed «rj I MMftiti •* #refea*eeaa to ge*4 ■afea. tat, after lw !*•■ a «**■■ '* court' at tbe CietßVeaalreeeaatryvMe, Tto Iteraal frtekfl*." .- Mm j aa Ma fetes, Sttttjilla, a ■STLllTtfc* partei"e7iotarlU. r«M M ***** trtfe, Tkere ««st have •Twe-, etet* tke taaeief a wHeeref laelher ZaTta ban faebiea, **» slwaye gl«a aaaatTAßeToarti ("a serfeeitr weaiaa ef We ratwaer kreik«f PelSTeil (km feres wteefcw, "re* «»"« Sr-IT VeZ Ik* erceanaeaillea wit kiiilriai I* few rams aaa a turn!. %Swm Mrte* eil fcli ttMltr .r#l(.« jiin.err ifcete wei a fteat tllirereme, SwWrMl trie a aeihlag, He««»»e fel; pw af ftff«pflM«»to. wilt l»e gluaeur .f t swW eeal ml Ike King* eonimlinlnti tt khjiifiitf Ita hie) esrl Ik* wrM beyonO m Mr «rMr* ef I (Mill Hcotllih tinrlili. laetsi eenel la a IIM teilmcnt, greVrtoay rpeet trill ef him, end he had ■Mr MrMri Alennilrr, en the other kesH UK • *i»W»f ■■ • •pen'irM. t .rHlart iad a dihitiehet, Willph»»|, lea, At WlesMrgh, wh«* toil] aajsirrt kr kH fea« iaelker t* be iluHytng •tarMM, ke kef fakii I* iHI coumil «nd, taMMt «< illnelsg to llm lielurti e( lh< iwpjpjin at ik* tMifirtiir h *«k Jm* MftotlM »f»»Hi ef I he mlpUttri at the Mr* m leefi/i, ke etcuplef kle time with ttrleae MfklM'-leri, Oat ef (km lattir pee rslfsreee kite tot* wirrliie, freak freat ker kepp/ *af will-eppolnted (jetx, tke r*»if km* «Mt *•«<•«■ ■aetalia a rae* awikMtoi, Ttwaaii OHItI*, •fwtri imatUlif. skeet kit kitltbl bli ■etker, taekryeieie ia< keif italic) end AM Clerk, eftr Hlrrlaf up mlsehltf bitwitn Mc asirHef pilr, Ike probably felt that Reikeriae'e arrlnl efviratly affected iter awa lajperlaieei a*«, furiher, tbit It conatllNlsd a berrlrr In Aluantler's prospect ot •llleiile laecsiilea, This did not suit Use's keek ft all, for the hid an "under. Metisi" wltk tint loose llrlng ftntUraan, la all Dili atmosphere ef gloom end fteleusy, end Mutual distrust, there was •cc cheerful ipot, This was iho prnnenco af Patrick Ogllrl*. Tn contrast with tho deer, glum.vlsaged Themes, this other trethir bed youth, good looks, and a gay dtspntlthn, The Inevltnblo occurred, Xeronipisicd by en eldorly and valetutfJaarlan husband and boorish farm handH, •ad dependent for feminine companionship aa a silly old women in Lady Enstinlln and a trollop In cousin Ann, Kathcrlne retpoflded readily to tho young soldier's advances, and he to here," Tbe friendship ripened Into' Intimacy, and from Intimacy fe something stronger. There were furtive hand claipa and kisses, billings and coelngt, private talks, and stolen meetings la the woode end fields. All very wrong but, under the clrcumptancet, all very natural. Neither Patrick nor Katberlne could keep their secret. Spying eyes watched them, and gossiping tongues began to wag. Ann Clerk, wbo was playing a deep game, went lo her aunt with a tale of how her daughter-in-law was "carrying-on." The aid woman told her son, and be had a furious Interview, first with his wife, and then with his brother. As a solution of the domestic upset, he could think of nothing more original than to turn Patrick out af the house, ~ Katherlno wss disconsolate. The thought at ticlng loft alone at Eastmlln, witfiout a friendly face to Ilgl ten the dullness there, caused her to take the first step In the aerlea of acts that was to slip a noose round Patrick's neck and Jeopardise her own. She , did a mad thing. She wrote and begged Hm to return. This was tho letter: "Dear Captain,—l was sorrie I missed you this day. I sat by tho water side a Jong time this forenoon. I thought you would have corned up here. If you bad as much mind ot mc as I have of you. ynu yould havo corned up. . . Cod knows the heart I have this day, and Instead of being better it** worse, and not 1b my power t» help It. Ton are not minding the thing that I tald to you or you went out here, nnd what I wrote for. . . Tour brother would five anything you would come. For God's eike come." A foolish, but sadly pathetic, little letter, and one which was to exercise * dreadful Consequence en both the writer and the recipient. Tragedy. The remark. "Ton arc not minding tbe thing that I said to you or {.before) you vrrnt out here, and what I wrote for," had a Sinister interpretation twisted Into It. This was that Katherine had asked Patrick to fct her some laudanum and some arsenical salts with which to puhrnn her husband. Her awn story, however, was tbat she wanted both eubstances for herself; the laudanum because she slept badly, and the salta to | core a stomachic disorder front which she was suffering. Be this as It may, Patrick Slid supply her with a tmall quantity of arsenic aa well aa a bottle of landanam. ■ The polsoa duly reached Eastmlln, and was surreptitiously delivered to Katharine by Patrick's brother-in-law, Andrew ■toart. Aaa tuda It kea eaajMM to

1 discover this. Tkea, determining te te<* .spWteet ceaaael, eke harried off to the park* mlatattr. "with a view of being adv!«*d what wet fit to he done to such a eaie." Cntortunately this admirable plea 1 rolartftd on tka threshold, aa tbe reverend StaUtsaaa was "set at home" to his caller. Tka next taoralag Mr. OgUvle failed to appear at breakfast, and Kstberine. who had carted a bowl of tea, prepared by herself, to Mat. anaonaced that "the laird was taken very IU." A proposal to send for a, doctor met with some demur. However, It was acceded to eventually. In the meantiase Thomas OgUvle firew rapidly worse. Mc teems to have had aa Likllng of what vras the matter with him, for ho declared that ke was "poisoned." On being offered some water In the vessel tbat had contained his tes, he cried out, "P that bowl, for I have got my death from It already 1" By midnight bt waa dead, "with a horid Imprecation on hta lips." Not at all a fitting end for a man who bad been an elder of the kirk. Tho doctor, arrivlnf oa the tccne In leisurely fashion a couple of hours afterwardt, gave a certificate of "death from natural causes." Arrangements were made for the funeral, aad Patrick and Alexander were summoned. It wee then tbat a dramatic happening occurred, the younger tf the two, Alexander, forbade tbe obsequies, tllrgtng there bad been "queer work afoot." Thereupon the widow, backed up by Patrick, feeling this hlgb-hauded behaviour a reflection on herself, suggested a post-mortem. A surgeon did look at the kody ef the deceased Thomas before It wee colHned, At he declared a post- ' ■erteaa uateceHary, the Interrupted funeral tkea toek piece. Baulked la hit effort to Interfere, Alexaader then pulled a fresh tiring. He went off ket foot to the sheriff, end mads a statement which led that worthy muu to issue a. warrant for the arrast of Katharlno Ogllvle, widow, aaf Patrick Ogllvle, brother of the departed. Followed Investigation by the authorities j Incriminating assertions by cousin Ann and brother Alexander; heated denials by ecciiieds md, finally, Kathorlne and Patrick dispatched under guard to Edinburgh, there It be dealt with by Judge end jury on a double charge ot Incest and murder, eUiMtional Trial. The eceho of the trial -was tbe High Court ef Justiciary, in Parljament equate, Edinburgh, It begin an August 6th, 1766, md lasted until August 141 th. The Lord Justice-Clerk presided, and flvu other judges lit with him, The Lord-Advocato iiikl the Solicitor-General, conducted the prosecution, and illeury Dttndas and Alexander Lockhirt appeared far Katharlno, end Andrew Croible und Unvlil line tot Pel rick, K"]|ri',; Inn the fleole practice, the female prisoner wai arraigned under her maiden mine, end waa called on to pluad m Xitherltio Nairn, Hor answer, ai also that of I'elrJck Ogllvlo, -..jin uot guilty. Henry Dutidnt had tr.-elvo separate reasons to submit why Xathcrlne was Innocent. The principal onos among them ware thit, having boon'a chronla Invalid for ftirii TJiumiiii Oillvlo'a death was due to natural ceuioii that Kalherlno had required tho. laudanum and ulte for her otvn in n; and that tbe prosecution wet the outcomi of a -wicked conspiracy engineered by Alexander Ogllvio and hit paramour Abo Cluth, Hll client, bo declared, "it hoptful tbe charge will appear to be tbe result of the moit inveterate rancour, hatred, end deidly malice, conceived against her by one of her own sex, a person of most flagltioui life end abandoned character, and who, aht ii told, is the principal evidence meant to bo used egelnst her," This, of course, was a knock at Ann Clerk, Tho Crown bad upwards of llity witnesses. Their etnr performer, of course, was Ann. Clark, When tho stepped Into tbe witness-box, Henry Dundos promptly railed an objection to her presenco there, on tho grounds that "sh,o Is a person or lnrainous character, reputed to bo a notorious liar and dissembler, a disturber of the peace of families and a sower or distention." In fact, he rather suggested that she was not entirely trustworthy. However, the witness, "purged of malice nnd partial counsel," stopped triumphantly where the was and twore away tho lives of. Kathorlne Nairn and Patrick ogJlrie. She declared that she had often observed Improper conduct between them, and that Kattierlne tad repeatedly expressed . c with to poison poor Thomas. Tho farm servants gave similar evidence against their mistress, One of them conld not speak English, and two of them conld not write. Eilll, they could see and hear, and. they said they bad soen and beard the prisoners "making lore, and kissing and hugging." As one of these Informative 'damsels bad been-dlcbarged by Katherlne for theft, and wsa known to have vowed vengeance on her, It was obvious that ber testimony was coloured. Henry -Dundee and Alexander Lockhtrt put up a good fight tor Katherlno Nairn. The main point In their client's favour (were that she was known to have been' In the bnbit of taking laudanum for sleeplessness, and thnt tbe arsenic had been purchased openly to destroy rats. No arsenic was found on tho premises .when tho police searched -the house. It was proved, too, that a dog bad drunk out of tbo same bowl at Tbomat Ogllvle and had not suffered any 111-effects.

WIFE FINDS CLUE IN HAIRBRUSH. DIVOBCH COURT STOET OF PAPERED WINDOWS. How a husband Jumped Into a motor car irlth ft woman, ana left hie vrlfo standing Iα tho street, was described In the London Dlrorco Contt, when Mrs. Etlla was granted a decree nisi flgilne' Robert Ellis, of Qosfortb, on tho ground o( his mUconduct trlth a Mre. Fayntor. The caBO wns not contested. Blr Edward Marshall Hall, K-C, for Mrs. EHIs, said the paitlea were married In 1005, and tho flrflt ten years ot Ibe mnrrliiiTO woro ideally happy. In 1010 Mr. EIU3 T«nt to the war, nml ■was badly wounded. He then mot Sire. Peyntcr, on attractive woman, who lived near them In Oasforth.. Ho Introducoil nor to Mri. Ellis, aad she Tlsltcd their house. Wife Turned Out. Mri. Ellle Irciiueotly protested against ncr hnaliand's Infatuation for Mrs. Pnynter, but without avail. Mr Ellis had a beautiful houso called North Moor Lodge, and kept six or seven servants, but he had to elvo It up and talie a email house adjoining called White Lodsc After Mrs. Ellis left ho had brown taper pasted over the window*, and also had heavy curtains, but Mrs. Pnyntcr w>l seen to Tlslt him there. Mre. Ellis said one day Bho went to Mri. Payntcr's house, and saw her husband's cor outside. Hβ came out of the hove«, followed by Mrs. Taynter. , no declined to com* with witness, and. saying "Jouip In, Mabel," to Mr«. Taynter, they drove off together, leaving witness standing there. Mrs. Ellis eald that once, when her husband returned home nfter ft few days' absence, nho found black hnlrs op his hairbrush. In September, lOi'3, eho referred to Mrs. Pnynttr ns "that woman, ,, and her husband turned her out of North More Lodge. After other evidence, Mr. Ju tlco Swift fmnied a decree n!:l,